1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rescue pole device and, more particularly, to a rescue pole device having a clamping end and, most particularly, to a rescue pole and clamp device useful for rescuing and individual that is in the water or has fallen through the ice into water.
2. Background Information
When an individual has fallen in the water and is in need of assistance to be rescued, a number of devices are available to assist rescuers in this task. In warmer climates, a wide variety of rescue devices can be employed, including a simple pole, a ring buoy on a rope, a life vest, a nearby boat or canoe, etc. The situation is more complex in cold climates where the water is much colder and may be covered by ice. Although the danger of drowning is present in both situations, an individual in icy water must contend with hypothermia as well. In warmer water situations, the individual may be able to assist rescuers in moving the individual to safety. An individual subjected to icy water quickly loses the ability to work with rescuers to aid in their transport to safety. Consequently, a device for icy water rescues must be able to engage an individual in distress without that individual's assistance. Such a situation often occurs when an individual has fallen through thin ice on a body of water. In this situation, the rescuer dare not closely approach the individual in distress, lest the rescuer also break through the ice. A number of devices having a feature for engaging an individual, an animal or an object have been granted patents.
Kromann, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,002,709, describes a spring-loaded harpoon device having a pair of arms with curved ends. The arms are pivotally anchored at one end to a handle and each anchored end has gear teeth, which engage a toothed shaft. A spring around the handle moves the shaft out from the handle with the shaft, which pivots the anchored ends of the arms. This pivoting causes the curved ends of the arms to converge and encircle or impale an object.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,056,343, Kromann discloses another spring-loaded harpoon device having a pair of scissors arms with curved ends. Actuating the device causes the scissors arms to extend and the curved ends to close on an object and impale or securely hold the object with the curved ends of the scissors arms.
Porter, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,122,264, describes a noose device that includes a long and slender body part with the animal-engaging section at one end and the manipulating and extension-connecting section at its opposite end. The opposite end is held by the operator, and the engaging section includes a mechanism to open for admittance of the animal and close for its retention. The animal-engaging section is made up of hollow curved fork members rigidly secured to the end of the body part, which also is hollow, and curved closure members are slidable inward and outward in the hollow fork members. The fork members have on their outer ends ball-like enlarged projections, which are adapted for avoiding injury to the animal as they pass at opposite sides of its neck or body. The closure members slide to their inner positions in the respective fork members, and then pass around the neck or body of the animal to their outer closing positions. The closure members also are hollow, with the terminal balls fixed by necks inside their outer ends and provide the outer-end-abutments for respective open-coil springs contained within the closure members. These springs are compressed between the outer and inner abutments when the closure members are moved inward, and tend to force these members outward to the closing position unless held by retaining means. The retaining means comprises slender but strong cables with their outer end parts fixed in the necks of the respective ball terminals.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,485,703, Christoffer discloses an improved livestock tool that includes a body having clamp arms pivoted on the lower end thereof, and adapted to support a cable loop. The body contains a handle operatively connected with the clamp arms for automatically moving the clamp arms to tighten the cable loop about the snout of the animal when caught. The loop is removable so that the tool may be used as a bull stop or cattle leader by engaging the clamp arms in the nostrils of the animal or in a ring already in the animal's nose.
Kolodziej, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,685, describes a line holding and manipulating device that includes a pair of flexible arms, which define arcs of the same radii and of less than 180° length. The flexible arms describe a circle having a gap between oppositely disposed ends of the arms. The arms are hollow in nature, are slotted along their entire length and are supported in such a manner as to cause the slots to face inwardly toward the center of the circle. A loop at the end of a line may be supported within the hollow flexible arms prior to engagement with an object.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,605, Maruniak discloses a cheliform fish grip having an overall specific gravity of less than that of water. The device is obtained by constructing the parts of a plastic having a specific gravity greater than 1.0, and constructing the handle with an air compartment of sufficient size to reduce the overall specific gravity to less than 1.0. The jaws of the fish grip are pivotally mounted on a body, an actuator is slidably mounted in the body and spring biased levers are pivotally connected to the actuator and to a central portion of each jaw.
Harris, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,643, describes a rope handling device comprising two cylindrical tubes adapted to have one pass longitudinally within the other, with a T or Y shaped journal attached to the end of the outer tube. An appropriate length of rope is positioned through the length of the inner tube and the rope is looped at the end extending out of the tubes and through a spreading journal or yoke. One portion of the loop extends out one side of the journal, and another part extends out the other side of the journal, and the completion of the loop extends out beyond the journal. The loop section of the rope has a stiffening means, such as a stiff spring wire embedded and securely fastened in the rope. The loop may be enlarged by pushing the rope through the spreader. The loop may be made smaller and tightened on any object encircled by the loop by pulling the rope through the tubes. By pulling the inner tube away from the loop, the overall length of tubes may be expanded to a considerable length to permit positioning the loop over an object a considerable distance from the holder. The device is particularly adapted for fastening boats to mooring posts.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,825, Johnson discloses an apparatus for extricating an individual from a hazardous location or situation. The apparatus includes a mechanism for selectively grappling various portions of the individual's body and a generally elongated frame having a substantially longitudinal extent which can be varied in length and which supports the body grappling mechanism. The elongated frame allows an individual to use the grappling mechanism to grapple a portion of the body of the individual who is in a jeopardized situation from a position of safety without jeopardizing both individuals. The body grappling mechanism includes a torso engaging mechanism and a limb engaging mechanism, both of which extend outwardly from the longitudinal axis of the frame of the apparatus. The torso engaging mechanism is contoured to define at least one torso receiving concavity having a lateral extent, with respect to the frame, which is selectively sized and configured to receive and retain the torso of an average individual. The limb engaging mechanism is contoured to define at least one limb receiving concavity having a lateral extent, with respect to the frame, which is selectively sized and configured to receive and retain at least one limb of an average individual. The lateral extent of the limb receiving concavity is less than the lateral extent of the torso receiving concavity. Depending upon the hazardous situation in which the apparatus is to be utilized, the entire apparatus may be formed from electrically insulating materials and/or chemically resistant materials.
Beckly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,074, describes a man-overboard retrieval device that includes a rigid, tubular boom attachable at an inboard end to an anchorage on a boat. At its other, outboard end, a strap forms a semi-rigid, self-supporting bight, which can be placed around a man in the water. A draw-cord attached to a free end of the strap extends through the boom and emerges at the inboard end where it can be pulled to tighten the bight around the man before being fastened in a cleat. A hoist on the boat can be attached to a hoisting eye on the boom either at the inboard end or near the strap, as convenient, for hoisting the device and the rescued man onboard.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,876, Dodson discloses a self-activated gaff, which responds to contact of a trigger bar with an object to cause a pair of tongs to close and embrace the object and to lock around the object until released. The gaff uses a piston-like member and a pair of constant force springs to couple the piston-like member to the tongs. The tongs may subsequently be released by the manual release of the tong-locking mechanism.
Roach et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,907, describe a mooring and maneuvering device, which includes an elongated rigid pole, having an improved boat hook at the distal end. A flexible loop is attached at the distal end and moves to an operative position to facilitate the securing of the device to a mooring post. In an inoperative position, the loop is pivoted back upon and secured to the pole to permit the use of the device for other purposes.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,093, Burns discloses an apparatus for moving an individual. The apparatus includes a fitting attached to one end of a pole. The fitting is shaped and dimensioned to engage an individual's clothing by being pressed against the clothing and rotated. The apparatus can be fitted with various hooks and/or straps to engage the appendages or body of an individual in need of rescue.
Waugh, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,240 describes a recovery device for use from the cargo door of a helicopter hovering over a vehicle to be recovered. The device includes a telescoping pole with an upper end secured to the helicopter floor and a lower end defining a hoop which can be manipulated around the weapon or target into a first position for securing a first noose to a first portion of the vehicle to be recovered. The snare pole is then shifted to a second position where a second noose is tightened around a second portion of the vehicle. After the nooses have been positioned about the vehicle, the crewman aboard the helicopter pulls the retainer lanyard joined to the retaining pins. This operation releases the snare pole from the helicopter. The inner pole telescopes within the outer pole, and the vehicle is held directly beneath the helicopter by the cargo hook. The pilot can then fly the helicopter upwardly to carry the vehicle clear of the water.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,731, Crone discloses victim snare pole that includes a substantially stiff, elongated member having two opposing ends, on at least one end of which are provided a rearward facing hook and a non-sliding snare loop. Other feature(s) such as light(s) may be provided. In a preferred embodiment, the pole is substantially non-reactive with respect to the victim and the surrounding area where a rescue would be attempted. A victim may be rescued by a rescue operator by steps, which can include providing the victim snare pole to the rescue operator, and locating the victim; inspecting the victim and his surroundings, and discerning how to rescue him with the victim snare pole. The actions are selected of; hooking and pulling the victim back in the direction of the rescue operator employing the hook of the pole; securing the victim with the non-sliding snare loop by causing the non-sliding snare loop to surround a part of the victim; followed by twisting the victim snare pole to tighten the non-sliding snare loop around that part of the victim and then pulling him back in the direction of the rescue operator.
Trillo, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,602, describes a docking fork for facilitating the placing of a docking line loop about an object, such as a piling or cleat, to assist in the docking of a marine vessel. The docking fork includes a substantially U-shaped tray member defining upstanding walls and a floor for receiving and maintaining a docking line loop in an open condition in preparation for positioning about the object. The docking fork, supporting the docking line loop, is placed over a piling and is pulled away, thus leaving the docking line loop alone about the object in preparation for tightening and subsequent docking of the vessel.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,942, Fernandez discloses a device for capturing an aquatic animal, such as a fish, particularly for ensnaring the tail or body of a fish. The invention relates to a device, which places a rope around the body or tail of any fish. The device comprises a pole having a circular tube attached at one end of the pole. A rope is removably attached to the inside of the tube such that when the rope is pulled on, it is removed from the attachments of the tube and ensnares the body or tail of the fish. The rope has an open end on one end and a noose at the other end.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,353 by Goodman et al. discloses a system and method involving a line capture device and a flotation apparatus. The line capture device has a body, at least one line retainer having a line retainer portion and a latching portion for retaining a portion of a captured line. A capturing line extends from the body for pulling the device. The captured line and a secondary object, such as a victim, can be pulled back to a rescuer. The flotation apparatus has a safety flotation vest housing a deployable flotation device and a deployable line to be captured.
Goto, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,575, describes a thrust fork to arrest a resisting criminal without danger of being stabbed by an edge tool. A thrust fork's main body is attached to an end of a handle portion provided with a forked rod. Movable opening and closing rods have base end portions pivoted to leading ends of the forked rod and freely swivel only inside the forked rod without outward movement. A returning element returns the opening and closing rods by a spring to an original position. A constraining rope, both ends of which are engaged with leading ends of the opening and closing rods respectively, forms a ring having a suitable size inside the forked rod. The end of the forked rod is opened and closed via swiveling of the opening and closing rods.
Applicant has invented a rescue pole and clamping device that overcomes the short comings of these patent inventions.